Admission

Admission Interns

Pooja Bhaskar '09

I went to visit family in India last December, and, having explained to all my relatives, distant and near, what my major is, I found that each of them had unanimously decided that my thesis topic absolutely must, must be about India. I grinned and thanked them for their opinion, intending to promptly neglect to follow through (oh, don't judge me). Anyway, apparently everyone in my life knows me better than I know me, 'cause now my religion thesis really is about India and I'm pretty jazzed about it. Well, at least, right now, as I write this in mid-September, I'm pretty jazzed. This may change in time.

But because I am more than my major, this is my third year working for the admission office and also my third year working at the bookstore. I'm currently involved on Interfaith council and have, in the past both distant and near, been involved with the biology outreach program, the Peer Mentorship program, two productions of the Vagina Monologues and the Judicial Board. I lived on campus for two years in theme dorms and now that I live off campus, I'm hoping to make Portland, and not just Reed, feel more like home. A year ago, when I wrote this bio, I wrote the following: Part of making Portland feel like my home is that, uh, I'm learning to ride a bike. Because I can't go straight. Because I forget to pedal.

A year later, still can't. Ugh. Anyway:

Curious about faith at Reed, diversity at Reed, the religion department, admissions, the bookstore's return policy, smart fifth graders, what those German guys think about religion, or the Reed honor system? Have a pair of training wheels I can borrow? Find me! I check my email about 30 times per day, so it won't be hard.

KC Deane '09

Since arriving in Portland, I have developed an unnatural obsession with tastings. Coffee, chocolate, and cheese to name a few. But coffee, ah coffee - the love of my life, from a simple French Press brew to a divine latte topped with gorgeous artwork. This caffeinated drink has shaped my time at Reed. An excellent mocha is the
inspiration to write another four pages of that history paper, and a $1 drip coffee from the Paradox urges me to figure out one last economics problem.

If you ask anyone in my Political Philosophy class freshman year, I am a Poli Sci major destined for the Virginia Governor's mansion. And that could still be true, but my major of choice these days is Economics. Economists can make anything into a graph -- anything. I once drew a graph that showed my utility is maximized with back issues of The Economist and mp3s of bad pop music.

But, my true academic love is higher education. I dream of working as an institutional director at a fabulous college, where I would dispense wisdom and statistics about education. And, believe it or not, I discovered this passion in an economics course. Yep, an economics course. You should ask me about it.

So! If coffee and college brochures excite you or if you just want to chat about Reed (or even the stress of applying to colleges), call or email me without hesitation.

Jack DiBoise '10

Howdy! I'm a junior English major from the SF Bay Area studying creative writing and having the time of my life at Reed. My path to Reed was not the most straightforward, for several months I was a Mechanical Engineering student at school with more than forty thousand students, before dropping out to take a gap year. I found Reed while re-applying to schools and realized that this is where I belong. I applied early decision and haven't regretted my decision for a second.

In my 'Why Reed?' essay, I remember writing about how when I first arrived on campus, I felt like I had finally come home. To me, Reed isn't just a school, it's my family, it's the people I laugh and joke with, the people I sit next to in the Library. I love my class work here at Reed, I get to read some of the greatest books ever written and discuss them with my peers. The professors are academically outstanding and enthusiastic about our education. Outside of the classroom, I play Rugby and help run an organization called DanceTeam5Million which throws impromptu dance parties in student spaces. In my free time at Reed, I've operated a nuclear reactor, learned to breathe fire and woven a basket underwater.

I love talking about Reed to anyone who will listen. If you are a prospective student ("prospy" in Reed lingo), anxious parent, admissions counselor, or just want to talk about Reed, send me an email, I'd love to hear from you.

Ellen Green '09
I still remember the moment when I opened the Reed viewbook and said, "Mom, my search is over." I went to public school, and private college seemed a long shot for me financially. Fortunately, providing the means for motivated people to do interesting things is what Reed is all about.

It's also about camaraderie with other people who take their work, but not themselves, very seriously. Over the past three years I've studied economics, political philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and religion. I plan to go to seminary and then to nursing school. As much fun as I think the library is, I also pursue extra-library fun. During my first year at Reed I became certified as a wilderness first responder, in part by covering myself in fake blood and screaming in the canyon until another trainee came to "rescue" me. Since then I've accompanied recreational trips organized by the Reed Outing Club and the Gray Fund. I've been a Student Senate appointee to Honor Council and a member of the Feminist Student Union. As a sophomore I lived in the Spanish language house, and I spent my junior year traveling in the Middle East. These days I'm part of the rough and rowdy local Unitarian Universalist scene as well as the Zen meditation group on campus.

Drop me a line if you're curious about how the Honor Principle guides academic and social life or if you simply want to know whether the two are mutually exclusive.  I especially love talking with fellow Southerners, potential social science majors, and anyone who wants to know what makes Portland so great (it's the bike-in movies). I hope to see you on campus soon!

Dahlia Grossman-Heinze '10
I was born in southern California, but moved to Kansas as a kid. I grew up there, learned to say "pop" instead of "soda", and moved back to California in high school, where I got made fun of for saying "pop" instead of "soda". While I call both states home, I'm a Midwestern girl at heart. Because I moved around so much I think I developed some sort of place-related complex in which I just didn't know where I belonged. I took a path a bit longer than most to wind up at Reed, transferring here as a sophomore, but once I got here, I knew I was finally in the right place.

Reed is my favorite place in the whole world, and as I say this I am placing my hands over my heart, a gesture my friends have become very familiar with that indicates that I am telling the truth, and also that I really love something. I'm a junior English major hoping to emphasize in creative writing, and modern and contemporary literature. Aside from spending all my time reading, I enjoy chocolate milk, clothes, Tony Kushner, art history, jazz, R.L. Stine, rap that is not in English, shoes, lit theory, art nouveau, hot air balloons, Henry VIII, pasta, and Britney Spears.

If you have questions about being an English major, transferring to Reed, hot air balloons, or Britney Spears, please contact me, because I like to talk about all of those things. Especially Britney Spears.

Melody Harvey '10

Hey, hey, hey! I'm Melody Harvey, and I'm a junior economics major from Pasadena, CA. I am particularly--and highly-- interested in socio-economics, economic history, and environmental social justice. During my years here at Reed-- aside from studying :)-- I have served as a Peer Mentor Program mentor, and as a submissions editor for the Reed College Creative Review. I am currently president of Reed's Black and African Student Union.

Hmmm...so, how did I end up at Reed of all places? Well, I'd certainly never visited either Reed or Portland, OR prior to my coming here. At home, every time I mentioned "Portland", the first thing a person told me was, "it rains a lot out there!" I decided to take my chances when I attended an info session near my hometown, and ran into one of Admission's assistant deans, Sirius Bonner. I began, "Hi, I'm Mel--" She immediately exclaimed, "Melody Harvey! I read your application! It's nice to see you!" I thought, "Oh, wow... oh wow!" At the end, I knew that at Reed, I wouldn't be just "number 3579" in the school records; I'd mean much more. I knew that at Reed, indeed it must be small and cozy as their brochures claim. I know that Reed, I am definitely getting my education's and experiences' worth.

Should you have ANY questions about Reed, some of the extracurriculars here, economics, Portland, or the whole college process and experience in general, please do not hesitate to contact me! I'd be more than happy to address questions you may have! :D

Clara Hillier '09
When I moved to Portland for high school, my mom and I went for a drive around Portland and wound up accidentally on the Reed Campus in the dead of summer. As we walked around the empty campus, a mysterious yet thrilling "something" grabbed me and has stuck with me ever since. My first time applying to Reed didn't work out, but persistence and a year at Portland State University finally got me my ultimate prize! Now here I am, current Classics major tackling her thesis (including my own translation of Clytemnestra's monologues with the varying tones of other/lover/killer coupled with my own modern production) after completing a semester abroad in Athens, Greece.

For those who know me, I am loud, theatrical, and always over-involved. My pet projects on campus include working as Gray Fund intern for two years, grooving it up with the Dance Troupe, doing as much on and off campus theater as possible (while serving as the Marketing Director for Tin Pan Alley Theatre and the Education/outreach intern for both Artist Repertory and Broadway Rose Theater), tabling for Reedies for Reproductive Rights, planning the Centennial Celebration for Reed in 2011, and dancing in Winch on Saturdays (swing, salsa, blues, foxtrot, etc). Feel free to throw me questions about Portland, theater, Greek, and all types of beyond the books involvement!

Wes Hilton '09

Raised until I was eight in a house dug into the side of a hill and powered by solar panels, I've come a long way to the big city. Though I've since grown comfortable with indoor plumbing and alternating current, the intricacies of public transit still elude me. And no matter how much my metropolitan Reedie friends mock me for it, I still consider any area off-campus to be "downtown."

I'm a senior linguistics major and a staunch defender of your right to say "ain't," use "data" and "media" in the singular, and end sentences with prepositions. Chances are if you meet me I'll survey you for my thesis. In my down time, I play games and dream of designing them.

I love doing things on Reed campus. Last year I helped organize Paideia (the week of fun not-quite-classes before spring semester starts). I've also been involved as an actor and a director in Hum Play (the annual parody performance of the Hum 110 syllabus), as the leader of the Safer Sex Society (providing free condoms to the campus), and as co-leader of the Association of Reed Gamers (a lending library and networking group for board, card and role playing games). I love talking with prospective Reedies, so drop me a line with any questions about these organizations or other aspects of the school.

Catherine Hinchliff '10
I first came to Reed as a three year old. At the time, however, I attended class sporadically and found playing in parks and going on play dates more interesting. Today, I am a junior history major, and I attend Reed with my dad, who is a philosophy professor (hence my 17 years at Reed), and my cousin, who is a senior math major.

Though I have some pretty awkward moments with students and professors alike due to my family connections to the school, for the most part I have no problems. I have met some wonderful people, I have taken a lot of challenging courses, and I have become very involved in the Reed community. This year I am running the New York Times On Campus Program (something I began out of selfishness), participating in Model UN (last year I went to Vegas and Chicago for conferences), and DJing with a friend at the campus radio station (I'm no more than 85% sure that I am successfully broadcasting my show). In addition, I am the library-desk buddy of the current student body president, so I get to pester her with my conspiracy theories (I am no more than 85% sure that she's listening).

As a history major, I can answer all your questions about history classes, professors, and requirements. If you're interested, I can also share some Reed lore or tell you about some of my awkward meetings with professors and students (if anyone asks, I am the more famous Hinchliff). Other than pestering my library-desk buddy, answering emails is my chief form of procrastination in the library. So send me an email anytime; I'd love to hear from you.

 

Maeve Hooper '09

My initial impression of Reed did not come from any article, tour, or college review guide. It came instead in the form of several rain-soaked students jumping in puddles outside of the library. At the time I was a junior in high school accompanying my brother (a senior) on some of his campus visits. One year later, as I began my own round of applications, Reed was at the top of my list.

Raised in Washington state, and having spent many summer breaks with my family in Ireland, I've done quite a bit of puddle-jumping myself. In addition to standing ankle deep in water, I also enjoy dancing (Irish and tango in particular), taking loads of photos, and biking around Munich, where I studied abroad last year. As the German House Advisor and a former Gray Fund Intern, I have gained insight to the inner-workings of Reed's non-academic side and experience in event planning, most recently Oktoberfest!

I am now a senior German Major beginning work on my thesis, which I plan to write on the influences of WWI on the literature of the Weimar Republic.

Michelle Lopez '09

People always ask me how on earth I ended up at Reed. I suppose it's a legitimate question, especially since in the span of 21 years I've lived in the Philippines; Holland; Switzerland; England; Russia; Houston, TX - before finally coming to Reed. If I had told the past version of myself that, "In the year 2008, you will be a senior economics major (with a strong interest in mathematics) attending a very quirky and intellectual college in the Pacific Northwest", I probably wouldn't have believed myself! Maybe it was the little Texan I had in me, but I always saw myself at a big university, waving school colors and studying a technical major like engineering or marketing.

What made me go the liberal arts college route? Simple. At a university, I knew that I would be just another cog in a degree-producing, academic factory. I wanted to work hard and actually *learn* - and trust me, you will LEARN at Reed. No more memorizing equations and plugging in numbers! I wanted actual theorems, math without numbers! I not only wanted to hear my professor's opinion, but my peers and my friends! Everything that I thought defined a great education, I found at Reed.

At Reed, I've worked on The Quest (the student body newspaper) as the business manager, DJed a radio show at Reed's very own radio station, served as a reading tutor for the SMART program and mentored for our Multicultural Program. I spent the last summer biking from New Hampshire to Vancouver, Canada to raise money and awareness for affordable housing organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

Drop me a line if you ever want to discuss anything pertaining to airline deregulation (what I'm writing my thesis on), or are wondering what it's like biking around Portland, or simply to find out where the best cupcakes in Portland are made.

Emma Riese '09
I live north of campus in a house with a puppeteer, a priestess, a purveyor of craft supplies, a poet, and a fabulous front porch. When I'm not reading, writing, or riding around Portland on my bicycle, I can often be found lounging in splendor on the porch, eating French toast and having a lengthy conversation with one of my housemates. I also enjoy taking care of babies (other people's for now), working in a clinic as a work-study job, doing nothing, knitting, dabbling in yoga, reading tarot cards, making detailed meal plans and schedules, thinking about anarchy and organizations, and reading young adult novels.

At Reed, I've worked in the Multicultural Resource Center, shelving books in the library, as an assistant to professors, and now in the admission office. I'm actively involved in the Feminist Student Union, and I sometimes go to meetings of the Blue Heron Infoshop, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and Greenboard (Reed's environmental advocacy organization). Academically, I'm an anthropology major and general cheerleader for the social sciences. I want to write a thesis about people's symbolic and emotional relationship with money and finances.

I've taken time off from Reed, and I was home schooled through high school, so I have a lot of thoughts on non-traditional educational paths. Talk to me if you have questions about applying to Reed as a home schooler, living with people who aren't students, feeling connected to both Reed campus and to Portland life, learning about time management and being a grown-up, being on financial aid, class at Reed, being queer in Portland, or anything else you fancy. I like talking to most anyone.

Swati Shrestha '10
Hello hello! My name is Swati and I'm from Nepal, born in Radford, VA, raised in Singapore and currently living in Portland, OR at Reed College! I'm a junior English major with a great interest in post-colonial literature. I once accidentally phrased that as "I like colonialism!" after which my friends made fun of me for at least three weeks. I'm loud and outgoing, and I highly enjoy talking to people about various things that I love - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, comics, traveling (especially to Singapore and Nepal!), Young Adult literature, Panic! at the Disco, Ikea, Lloyd Center (the biggest mall in Portland), and of course, Reed.

I came to Reed and to Portland without having visited beforehand, and having never stepped foot in the US since my family left when I was three, and so was very surprised when the immigration officer greeted me with "Welcome home!" I wasn't sure about that then, but Reed and Portland have now become one of my many beloved homes. This is a small community of people who are fun to interact with both inside and outside the classroom, and I would love to talk to people who are considering becoming part of it. So please! Write to me :)

Michael Stapleton '10
I'm Michael. I was born and raised in San Jose, CA—the state of sunshine, and the quail (our state bird). Interestingly enough, California has the snowiest region in the entire country (I read that on a Trivial Pursuit Card). I also don't recall having seen a quail in recent memory in California, but I could just be looking in the wrong places. But enough about California…let's talk about me.

I'm a junior majoring in English, looking to eventually focus on Modern American Lit. Authors such as Michael Chabon, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Sylvia Plath hold spots on my bookshelf. I'm also a transfer student, having spent one year at a very large, football-centered, frat-oriented research university, and one year at a community college. Now I'm at Reed, which completes my higher education tour. I also like polo shirts, dark wood furniture, crossword puzzles, and the feel of a good pair of slacks. I'm also the kind of person that once had a shirt with "Department of Redundancy Department" written on it.

If you've taken the time to read this it means that you're probably pretty interested in Reed…which is a good thing. Reed is an interesting place, full of interesting people. Nowhere in the country will you find a school where students address faculty members by their first names, grades are so taboo, seniors have their own desks in the library, alumni gather on campus to juggle once a year, there's an unofficial school song about epistemology, and interns get to pick the music played in the Admission Office.

If you want to know more about the quail, Modern American Literature, dark wood furniture, or Reed, you should email me. Seriously…email me.

Helser Valladares '10
The day I was born my house was robbed. My parents were nearly gunned-down in a liquor store robbery. I don't trust authority figures because my entire childhood I had to hide from them, lest they ask too many questions and take away my parents. I was hit by a bus. I lost my sense of smell because of it. I tried to buy shoes with food stamps. I taught myself to read. I was raised by my slightly older sister because my parents worked two jobs a day. I had Christmas canceled. I had hand-me-downs as new clothes. I recycled. Not for the earth. For the money. I never trick-or-treated. Because it wasn't safe. I didn't learn how to play any instruments because the schools didn't have it in their budget. I'm still getting used to "leaving a tip." I was carded to make sure that I "go here." I do.

I'm sure you can agree that the image evoked by the previous description isn't the archetype of a Reed student. But again, I am one. My path to Reed was unorthodox by many standards. And as shocking as the culture here initially was to me, I've managed to find my niche. I set out to prove that someone who is really different can actually make a big contribution to a community that many would think he/she wouldn't care for. I play rugby, I've DJed at the radio station, I've dorm hosted, I'm a House Adviser, I co-coordinate the Peer Mentor Program, I've started up the Latino Student Union again and I'm a Student Body Senator. I'm also a student. Again.

To me, Reed offered an opportunity. And as someone who wouldn't typically go to a private liberal arts college in the Northwest, I made it my mission to take advantage of all of it as best as I could and as much as they would let me. So if you have any questions about coming from different circumstances, being a first generation student, being a minority, or wonder about fitting in at a small private college in general, e-mail me. Because I'm also an Admission Office Intern.

Zoe Vrabel '09
My mother knew I was going to Reed long before I knew it myself. I read an e-mail she sent to my older brother during my college search, which said, "But in the end, I think she'll choose Reed." At the time, I was indignant; I was planning on going to a music conservatory to become an opera singer! But my mother was, as she so often is, right about me. I just couldn't give up my love of learning and academia, so much so that I ditched the conservatory idea and flew 3,083 miles (thank you, Google Maps) from Boston (the love of my life) to Portland (the love of my brain) just to be here.

Now I'm a sociology major (opera singer? What?) who plans to go to law school. My musical aspirations are not totally lost, though: I sing in the Chorus and the Collegium Musicum, play viola in the Chamber Orchestra, and take lessons on both instruments. I'm a past editor and current writer for the Quest (Reed's sweeeeeeet student newspaper), a member of the Student Senate (not nearly as nerdy as it sounds, but still pretty nerdy), and a former member of Booty (the women's Ultimate Frisbee team; named after pirates, not patooties). I also overuse parentheses and enjoy a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit.

If you're worried about being too "normal" to be a Reedie, are curious what the current hot button political issues in Oregon are, love to watch baseball and are scared that no one will watch it with you at Reed, want to know about the East Coast/West Coast cultural divide, are thinking of getting a tattoo, or need help with the college search in general (I am a TOTAL nerd when it comes to colleges. Seriously, just try me), drop me a line, because I'm D4W. Down 4 Whateva.